Dried Roses
by Resident-Of-Melancholy-Hill
Summary: After 7 years, Ash, Misty, Brock, and may are getting together to search for May's brother Max. But this time Drew and Solidad are tagging along. Will an old rivalry turn into something more? Exactly how many roses will May recieve? R&R plz
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.**

This is my first ever Contestshipping story so it is a little rough. It will probably have a lot of chapters. And if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes, plz just point them out to me. And finally thank you to **Arsyd** for helping me have the confidence to post this story.

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**Dried Roses**

May Maple woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. She quickly glanced at the small clock that was sitting on her bedside table. It read 4:23 AM. Who could be calling at this hour?she thought as she grumpily got out of bed. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where the phone was. "Hello?" May asked. "May, it's mom, Max is missing." Suddenly, May wasn't tired anymore. "What do you mean he's missing? I just talked with him yesterday." It had been 7 years since she moved away from her family's home in Hoenn and moved to an apartment in Jubilife City, Sinnoh. She was now 19 years old. "I know you talked with him yesterday sweetie, but there was still time for him to leave." her mom replied. "I talked with him at 7:30 at night, mom! It was nighttime and traveling after dark is really dangerous! Please tell me that he left with my Munchlax!" May was on the verge of panicking. "Yes. He took Munchlax with him, but I need a favor from you May." her mother said. "You want me to come home and help you look, right?" May asked, already guessing her mother's thoughts. "Could you? It would be such a big help." her mother replied. "Yes mom. I'll be there in a couple of days." "Oh and May, if you could get some of your old friends to come and help you with the search that would be even more wonderful." "Sure thing mom. I'll see you then." As May hung up the phone she tried to think of people she could ask to come with her to the Hoenn region to help look for her brother. It had been 5 years since she had last seen Ash or Brock. The only person she saw anymore was Dawn, but even then it was only occasionally at Contests. A lot of her older rivals/friends had decided to explore different regions. Most of them where in Kanto or Johto at the moment. "Great. Now I have to find my old scrapbook. Why did I put all of my friends' numbers in a scrapbook? It seems like such a stupid idea now that I am older." she said aloud.

Once she found the scrapbook she started flipping through the pages and calling her old friends' numbers. She soon had Ash, Brock, Misty, and Solidad on their way to her families home in Petalburg City. May thought that that would be enough people, but for some reason she continued to flip through the pages. The page after Solidad's had a single picture of Harley when he had won a contest. That was all there was on his page and May quickly continued on. The next page wasn't as empty. It had pictures of a green haired boy winning many contests on it. And there were also four dried red roses. Ah, yes. The roses. She remembered each and every detail of the four times she recieved the roses. Three times given to her in person, and one as a gift from a secret admiring fan. Each rose was meant for her pokemon. Or at least that is what he had said. May now knew better, and she decided that she would definetely have to give Drew a call.

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Drew Hayden woke up from a nightmare. At first the dream had started out nicely, another pleasant dream where the Grand Festival had just ended and he was talking with Harley and May. Harley had just suggested that the three of them travel Johto together. Both May and Drew didn't like the thought of traveling with Harley, but if May went he wouldn't mind. But May refused the offer and decided to continue traveling with Ash and Brock. Drew had simply shaken his head no, and then walked away. But the dream didn't end with what actually happened. The dream continued on to when Drew left the other two and to when he arrived at a Pokemon Center. The Nurse Joy there had given him a room number and a key. That is when his dream turned into a nightmare. He walked down the hallway to the number of the room he was supposed to stay in. He put the key in the lock and opened the door...only to find Ash and May sitting on the bed kissing. He quickly said he must have the wrong room, closed the door, and ran down the hallway feeling horrible. After that, however, he woke up and realized it was just a dream. The last part of the dream hadn't been real. When Drew had gotten a room at the Pokemon Center and opened the door, there had been no May and Ash. He tried going back to sleep, but soon realized that that would be impossible. So he was preparing to go for a really early morning walk with his Roserade when the phone in his room started ringing. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall of his room. 5:37 am. "Is that clock wrong, or is the time in Hearthome wrong?" he wondered aloud. "And who could possibly be calling?"

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Thanx for reading everyone :D reviews would be nice and a little constructive criticism would be much appreciated. This chapter is a lil short i know. it is just to explain what is happening in the beginning. oh and i may not be able to update before friday because i have a very busy life! One question is that i was wondering if i should make the story have a lot of chapters, or if each chapter should be long?


	2. Chapter 2

I have decided to make a lot of middle length chapters. It is just easier for me because writing for a long time at once is bad for your eyes and I don't want my eyesight to go bad or anything! This chapter will be about the reunion of everyone! YAY! :-)

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Ash and Brock were the first people to arrive at the Pokemon Center. When Brock had first walked in the automatic doors and into the main lobby, he had, of course, run straight over to the front desk where Nurse Joy was looking through some paperwork. He then started rambling on and on of her ever amazing beauty, until Ash came over, grabbed him by the ear, and pulled him away. The whole time Brock was protesting at being dragged away, and the whole incident created quite a scene. Seeing it, May remembered all of the times when she had been embarrassed by Brock's act whenever they walked into a Pokemon Center. Now she could just look the other way and not know either of them. But she did invite them, so she went over to greet them anyway. They talked for a little while and explained what they had been doing with their lives. Ash, was of course still training to become the ultimate pokemon master. Brock was still happy with being a traveling companion.

Shortly after Ash and Brock arrived, Misty and Solidad appeared. Brock got over Nurse Joy quite quickly and was soon talking to Solidad. Misty and Ash started talking, which left May alone. She didn't feel lonely. It didn't look like anyone would want to talk with her anytime soon, so she let her mind wander. It wandered to thoughts of Drew. The way he always tried to hide his true emotions, and the way he flicked his hair. She remembered some of their biggest battles. Yes, she did like him. And, somehow, she knew that Drew liked her back. It was just kind of akward considering that they used to be rivals. How was she ever going to tell him? Hmm, what would a date with Drew be like? Wait, what was she thinking! Her brother was missing and she was thinking about going on a date?! At that moment, May was really hoping that they found her brother soon.

"Isn't this everyone, May?" May's mother asked as she walked up to the small group of people sitting in the Pokemon Center waiting room. "Well, everyone except Drew, mom. I hope he's okay. " May replied. "I'm sure he'll be here any minute." Solidad said. Ash and Misty also agreed that he would show up sooner or later. "You guys are right. He will be here soon. He's probably going to claim that showing up late is fashionable or something!" May said with a smile. "That's because showing up late is _very _fashionable." May whipped around to see Drew slowly walking over to the group. "Now that every one is here, I guess we should get going!" May said, deciding to turn around and ignore Drew. She didn't think she was ready to see Drew again which made him being part of the search party kind of hard. Why, oh, why did she ever call him? Oh yeah. The roses. She had thought that it would be _nice_to see him. She thought she had missed him. Real smart, May thought. "What? Not even a hello? Or a nice to see you after such a long time?" Drew said walking over to stand next to May. "Yes, hello Drew. Nice to see you." May quickly said. She didn't really now how to handle seeing her old rival again. "Alright, let's head out! I guess we should start looking in Oldale town." May stated. "Actually there is already a search party in for Oldale and Littleroot Town. You guys should probably start in Rustboro City." May's mom said. "Okay. Then let's start there!" May said.

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"Are we almost there yet? I'm really, really, really hungry!" May stated. "May, you've traveled this road before. It's not like you don't know." Brock said. May stuck her tongue out at him, "I know it is just that..." "That your always hungry?" Drew called from behind the group. "If your going to tease her, Drew, then you may want to actually keep up with the rest of the group." Solidad called over her shoulder. "I think maybe I will go back there and walk with him." May announced. She then separated herself from everyone and ran back to walk with Drew.

"Wouldn't you rather walk with your friends?"Drew asked when he suddenly found may walking next to _him. _"I am walking with one of my friends." she answered. Okay, she thinks of me as a friend. That is a good start, i guess, Drew thought. "Hey, you want to have a battle?" May asked. "Shouldn't we keep heading towards Rustboro as fast as possible? I mean your brother _is_missing, after all." he replied. "Uh, yeah I guess so. But he is probably fine. He has my Munchlax with him." May had left her Munchlax with Max when she left and moved to Sinnoh, so technically it was Max's Munchlax. May currently had her Blaziken, Glaceon, Wartortle, Venusaur, and her Beautifly with her. "Besides, a battle between the two of us after so long...well, it would be special. It has to be at a special place at the right time. But we will have one. I promise." Drew said flicking his hair out of his face. May's face went red. "You're right. I...um...I think i'm going to go talk with Solidad. Talk to you later." May started to run up to the group in front, but stopped when she heard Drew call her name. She turned around to see his Roserade suddenly walking next to him, and a rose in his hand. "A rose...for you, May." he said turning his head so that May couldn't see the redness that was slowly starting to creep onto his cheeks. "Th-thanks."May said grabbing it, turning around, and racing back ahead to walk with Solidad. A rose for me, she thought. Not any of my pokemon. Just for me. May smiled. Solidad saw the rose and the smile, and instantly knew. She didn't say or do anything except glance back at Drew, who was smiling and looking at the ground. This trip won't be as boring as I thought, Drew realized. But how do I eventually tell her that I like her more than a friend? I can show her it by giving her roses, sure. But just coming out and saying it, that is going to be a lot harder, he thought.

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Alright here is the 2nd chapter. I hope you like this one. It took so long for me to write it because i had a huge case of writer's block. Alright, I was wondering if anyone reading had any ideas of what the group should do next. Or what will happen between May and Drew in the next chapter. Obviously, they will arrive in Rustboro, but other then that I have no idea what will happen! If u have any ideas then plz either pm me or post a comment! thanx :) oh and any spelling/grammar mistakes just point them out thanx again.


	3. Chapter 3

chapter three explains what happened to Max.

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Max needed a change. Ever since May left to move to Sinnoh, his dad had relied on him to help at the Gym. But not always in the ways of training. Recently, Norman had asked Max to help with redecorating the Gym. Max however, would rather help train.

Max was 17 and had had his own pokemon for 5 years now. He had, as he promised, went back and caught the Ralts he had befriended. It had taken him a while, however, because he had to train his Treecko first, which he had chosen as his starter. Ralts was now a Gardevoir, and his Treecko a Sceptile. He was training his sister's Munchlax, and the most recent addition to his team was a Spinarak that he caught after it kept trying to build a web on the side of his family's house.

"Max, come help me decide what color the new floor tiles should be." Max's mom called from inside the kitchen. Max had been watching a television special on the different types of pokemon evolution. He had already seen it, but was watching again to make sure he had learned everything correctly. "Coming, mom!" he called back.

He got up from the couch and made his way into the kitchen and over to the table. He sat down and waited for the long list of questions from his mom to come. "Alright, have any ideas?" she asked. "Not really, mom." Max replied. He couldn't care less, really. "How about, Cerulean Ceramic tiles, or this new one, Gabite Granite?" she read off of a tile list. She had five lists and Max wanted the discussion to be over quickly. "I think Gabite Granite would be fine, mom." he said. "Alright. It's not my favorite, but if that's what you think." she replied, smiling at him.

Max stood up and walked back into the living room to finish the show. Oh yes. I definitely need a change, he thought. That was when Max came up with his plan.

That night Max went outside after dinner. "Alright you guys, it's time." Max said calling all of his pokemon out of their pokeballs. Every single one of them looked at him strangely. "We are going to go on a relaxation trip to Lavaridge Town." he stated. His pokemon looked at their trainer questioningly. "I know it seems kind of weird, but I want to do something different. I am going to go pack. You guys wait here."

Once Max was done packing, he went outside and recalled all of his pokemon except Gardevoir. "I'd like to have some company while we travel." Max said. He then pulled out a map and headed down the road towards Rustboro. Max knew an old friend in Rustboro who he had met at the Pokemon Trainer school there. He had a Pidgeotto that could take Max the rest of the way so he didn't have to walk the entire way.

"Well Gardevoir, this should be fun." Max said. "It'll probably take a day to reach Rustboro so we will be there at around noon tomorrow. I just hope mom doesn't get to mad at me..."

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Well there you have it. chapter three. Hope u liked it. and reviews are much appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Alright back to the group. Ugh. I can hardly find anytime to write anymore now that i have school again.

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"Well everyone, we are finally here." Brock announced as they walked into the city. "Yay! Can we please go somewhere to eat?" May asked. "Yeah I could use some food too." Misty said. "Why don't all of the girls go to get some food. And the guys go off and do whatever they want." Solidad suggested. "Good idea." Brock said. "Ash, Drew, let's go."

May, Misty, and Solidad watched them leave and then headed off to eat lunch. They decided on a fast food place. They walked into the resteraunt, up to the counter, and decided order the Eevee Combo, which was a little bit of a lot of things. They teenage boy at the counter punched in the numbers. Suddenly, his jaw dropped and he just stared at the screen.

"Can the manager please come to the front counter please?" he said into the ordering microphone. In under a minute, an older looking man walked out of the back of the building and came to stand next to him. "What is it?" the manager said in a scruffy voice. "C-can you read the screen please?" the younger boy said.

The older man squinted his eyes and looked at the screen. "Congratulations! You have won an all expense paid trip to the wonderful hot springs of Lavaridge town!" he said, his voice suddenly becoming that of an announcer. The three girls just stared at the manager. "I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" Solidad asked.

"You have won a trip to Lavaridge for a week. You even get to bring 5 people with you. Oh, yeah. You are the 50th group of people to order the Eevee Combo, so you get the trip." the manager explained. "Right. Excuse us for a moment." Solidad said.

The group of girls walked over to a corner and started to discuss what they should do. "My vote is to just throw away the trip. We need to look for my brother. We have no time for it." May suggested. "May, that is so unlike you." Solidad said rather shocked. "Well, I kind of realized how I missed my old friends and my family when...I saw you guys again." May said. Solidad gave her a questioning look but, May ignored it. "I would like the trip...but May's brother comes first." Misty said.

The group walked back up to the counter. "We have decided to throw the trip." Solidad said. "We just don't have time for it." The manager stared at them like they were crazy. "Alright then. Um, is that all?" the manager asked really confused.

"No they are not. They will take the trip." The girls spun around to see Brock, Drew, and Ash standing by the door. Brock was the one who had just spoken. "Ash, Drew, May, Misty, and Solidad can go and i'll stay here in Rustboro to search for Max." "No. I'll stay too." Solidad said. "But i want to help look for my own brother!" May said. "Come on. It'll be fun." Drew said. "Alright, fine." May said. Misty looked at May in surprise. she had changed her mind in under three seconds. "Then I guess. We should be heading out!" Ash said.

The group left the resteraunt and headed off towards a bus that would take them to Lavaridge. Why does it seem like i have no control over looking for Max, May asked herself.

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plz review. point out any mistakes. u guys know the drill ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

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Alright. I am not happy with the quality of my last chapter so I am going to try and make up for it in this one. Let's hope it goes well ^-^

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He wondered why he hadn't told her yet. About the fact that he knew where her brother was, and about the letter she would soon be receiving. He loved her, that much he knew. He knew that the incident would have to end with her getting hurt, and he hated it. Before he got the call, he was looking forward to spending time with her and her friends. He knew that Max probably wasn't hurt at all so the trip would be fun, but then the man called and gave him instructions. It was all set up and planned. At first, Max had been safe, apparently just a joy trip to the springs, but Carson had called. He had Max, safe but still kidnapped. Carson had his plan, and Drew had no choice but to cooperate. Carson had something dear to him as well.

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"The bus is making good time." Misty said. She and Ash were sitting at the back of the bus. Someone had just told them that they were only twenty minutes away from Lavaridge. "Yeah. The bus left like ten minutes late too." Ash said. "By the way, Misty, I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner sometime." he asked. At first, Misty looked surprised. Considering the question came out of no where, she had every right to be. However, she just smiled and said, "How about later tonight?"

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Drew and May were sitting in the two front seats opposite to each other. The bus driver had recognized them both as top coordinators, and to be polite, Drew and May sat in the front to talk with him. The bus driver was an old man, at least seventy, had thinning gray hair, and wore glasses. He also couldn't hear very well.

"Have you two been dating long? I've seen some of your past battles and was quite surprised when you got on the bus together. You seemed more like rivals then a couple." the bus driver said. May laughed and looked to Drew for an answer. "Oh, we're not dating." Drew said calmly. He looked at May and each unknown to the other, the same thought shot through both of their minds, wouldn't it be nice if we were? "Ha! you think you can fool me? These eyes know a couple when they see one. You young lovers can't fool me!" the driver said laughing. May turned to look out her window, and Drew the same with his. I don't mind if he thinks we're a couple, they both thought.

The rest of the bus ride went by in silence. The bus driver would occasionally state something he had seen one of them accomplish or one of May and Drew's many battles in different competitions.

May was worrying if Max was okay or not. Knowing her brother, he probably wasn't in any danger at all, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Drew, however, was thinking of something different. He was thinking about what would happen when they reached Lavaridge. May would receive the letter Carson sent, and would have to meet the requirements asked for. Those requirements called for help from Drew himself. The ending would benefit everyone except May, other than the fact of her being able to seeing her brother again. Drew had thought a million times of ways he could try to stop it, but then he would lose his right to participate in Pokemon Contests, and even to own any Pokemon. That was what Carson held over him. If Drew did not do what Carson asked of him, Carson had the power to take away Drew's Pokemon and to expel him from all Pokemon Contests. The entire thing was incredibly difficult for Drew. He hardly even remembered how he got into the mess in the first place. He didn't have time to remember either, considering the bus pulled into Lavaridge. He stood up and got off the bus with May, and the two of them waited for Misty and Ash to come. Once every one was there, the group decided to go to the Pokemon Center to get some information on their prize.

Once there, Nurse Joy greeted them at the front desk. "Oh, you're May of Petalburg City, right?" Nurse Joy asked. "Yes. Why? Is there something you need from me?" May looked at her with a confused look. "I don't need anything from you, but someone else may. This letter addressed to you came about twenty minutes ago. It has no return address, so I don't know who it is from." she said pulling the letter out of a drawer on the other side of the desk. May took it from her and started to open it. "I wonder who it is from." she said as she pulled out the piece of paper that had been sealed inside. Drew looked away as she began to read it.

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Alright, there you have the 5th chapter! plz review and i have a question. Should i have Drew be in the mess because of something related to May in the first place, or have it relate to something Drew did in the past? I am leaning towards the related to May idea, but i would like to know your opinions. oh and point out any spelling or grammatical errors please. thanx for reading :D oh and i had a cool idea for a signature. on all my reviews and pms, from now on, i am going to have a rose figure. ---{-- see? i just luv it.


	6. Chapter 6

I am so so so so so so so so very sorry that this story is sooooolate. I have had a lot on my plate lately and I haven't had a chance to write at all recently. With out any further ado, the 6th chapter!

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May was in panick mode. She had just found out that her brother had been kidnapped. She had to tell someone, the police perhaps. But wait. No she could not do that. The letter had specifically told her that going to the police would result in the harm of Max. Her friends had tried to comfort her, and they kept telling her that they would figure something out. May doubted that things would be okay. Her brother was in danger! How were things going to be okay? The ransom price for him was close to impossible to get, and May only had four months to get it.

When May calmed down enough, she was able to think more clearly. She was able to reason that the ransom wouldn't be too hard to get, for she already had a few of them. She had time to go to the last few contests of the year to obtain the few new ribbons from the contests that had recently been created. But the thing that worried her, was the fact that she may not be able to win them all. May had not participated in a contest in quite a long time, and her pokemon were not in shape for a contest. She only had 2 weeks before the next contest in Lilycove. What was she going to do?

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May walked out of her and Misty's shared room feeling nervous, scared, and utterly helpless all at them same time. She rounded the corner and walked right into a man in a lrage black cloak.

"Oh, excuse me." she said as she apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going." The man simply smiled at her and said, "No. It was my fault, i am sorry. Now I must be going. See you around." the man said as he continued down the hallway. May made a mental note of the man, who was tall, had black hair, and the most striking blue eyes May had ever seen.

May entered the main lobby still pondering who the man was. Who was he exactly? His entire aura was that of someone who was well known. Maybe he's a co-ordinator, May thought. The thought momentarily pulled her out of her miserable state at the thought of a new rival, but it didn't last for more than a few seconds.

"Hey May! Over here!" Misty called over to her. Misty was sitting on a couch in the lobby reading a magazine of some sort. May walked over and took a seat next to her on the couch. "Hey. What are you reading?" May asked. Although, she wasn't really all that interested. Keep your mind of Max, she told herself. "Oh, just this magazine that was sitting here. It's not that interesting, and the only reason I'm reading it is to make an attempt to keep my mind off of what is happening later." Misty replied.

May gave her a confused look. She had no idea that Ash and Misty had plans to go to dinner that night. "I didn't tell you! Wow, I must be out of it. Ash asked me to go to dinner with him to night." Misty said, a blush slowly starting to creep up onto her cheeks. "That's great!" May said, trying to sound happy.

Misty looked at her inquisitively. May had been dragged back into her miserable mood by thoughts of Max. She just couldn't help but think of her poor brother, alone somewhere, being held against his will. Noticing this, Misty tried to cheer her up. "Since Ash and I won't be around, why don't you ask Drew to do something with you?" she suggested.

May tried to smile, but she knew Misty could tell it was fake. "I don't know, Misty. I just can't stop thinking about Max and how I'm going to get the ransom price. It has been so long since I've competed in a contest, and I just don't know if I've still got it in me to win." May replied.

Misty gave her an incredulous look. "Really?! Come on, May! You're the great co-ordinator May Maple! You've won the Grand Festival and your name is known through out the regions. You can easily win the last few ribbons that you need for the ransom!" Misty said getting all excited. May smiled a genuine smile, "Yeah, I guess your right. But what about the other people competing in the contests? I haven't been in any for a while, so I don't know what I'm up against."

Misty's determined look turned into a mischievous grin. "That's why you should ask Drew out for a date later. He's been in a few competitions since then, and he knows whose competition and whose not." Misty said, raising her eyebrows. For some reason, May got the feeling that Misty was focusing all of her thoughts on getting May and Drew together. "If i didn't know better Misty, i'd think that all you're doing right now is trying to set Drew and I up." May said.

Just then, Drew walked into the lobby. He saw May and Misty and walked over to them. "Hey May, I was, um, wondering about something." he said as he sat in the chair next to the couch. May looked at Misty, and Misty shook her head yes. "I was wondering something as well."May said. "You go first," he said. "No, you," she replied. "Yours is probably more important." Drew said. If May didn't know any better, she could have sworn that Drew was staling with what he was about to ask.

"You mentioned that you were wondering something first. Because of that, you go." May said defiantly. Drew realized that this would probably go on for a long time if he didn't just come out and ask her. "Fine. I was w-wondering if you wanted to go for a w-walk with me later, and then m-m-maybe to dinner or something." Drew asked looking away. Oh no, I stuttered. I told myself I wasn't going to, he thought.

The look of surprise on May's face made him nervous. What if she said no? He didn't have to worry, however. The look of surprise turned to an embarrassed smile and a blush. "Yeah. That sounds great! I was actually going to ask you the same thing." she said, her mood suddenly lightening.

"Cool! Um, well, I guess i'll meet you here at 4:00?" he said, glancing at the clock. 10:00, it read. Great, plenty of time to get ready. 'Yeah, that works for me." May said. "Awesome. Well, I have to go get somethings done. See ya later." Drew said, as he stood up and gave his hair a flick. May watched him leave and she sighed. "What'd I tell you?" Misty said punching May on the arm. "Yeah well, now I have to pick out what to wear. Will you help me?" May asked. Misty smiled, "We _both_ have to pick clothes to wear. I'll help you, only if you help me. I'm sure we'll both look great. I just hope our dates will too." Misty said. The girls laughed, and May felt a whole lot better.

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There you have it, chapter 6! So let me know what you think of it and review. plus i would like some date ideas like what they should wear, where they'll go, what they'll have for dinner etc. I've got big plans for this idea. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Little by little, I unfold the events of my story. Hoping that what I have written will entertain you. I hope my stories do entertain you, for I have a lot of fun writing them. The chapters and ideas are coming to me faster now, and I find myself writing more and more. I wonder if any other writers have ever experienced this, writing and writing and not being able to stop. It is most enjoyable........ah what the heck here's the 7th chapter! i felt like saying all those things to see if it sounded cool, psychotic, or both! I find out that it's both.

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Drew walked towards the lobby withan uneasy feeling in his stomach. The feeling was there for two reasons. Primarily, he was actually going on a date with May. He had waited so long, and now it was finally happening. The rose, that he had pre-placed somewhere where he would like to take her, had almost snapped in two because he was fiddling with it so much. The thought of May made him feel jittery and nervous, but in a good way.

The second reason why his stomach was doing somersaults was that he had run into Carson. Carson was not supposed to be anywhere near May and the group. It had been part of the original deal Carson had forced upon Drew. Drew would help insure that Carson got the ribbons, and Carson would sit by and watch, from a distance that is. Drew had no doubt that Carson somehow knew of his special feelings for May, and that Carson did not have complete faith in Drew's abilities to help with the plan. Drew himself was starting to doubt if he was capable of carrying out the plan. He had not seen May in years, and the feelings he had for her, that he had tried to put to rest over the time he didn't see her, had reignited.

Drew's mind was a large and confused mess when he walked into the lobby. He started looking for May, and every thought of anything else was shoved out of his mind when he saw her. May was sitting on the very couch she had been when he asked her. She was wearing a knee lengthred dress, with a thick band of black that ran around her waist. Drew thought that he had never seen her looking so beautiful. As he approached her, May looked up from the magazine that Misty had been reading earlier and smiled. She stood up and twirled around in a circle. "What do you think?" she asked. Drew couldn't help but smile. It was obvious that she wanted his approval. "You look great! Where'dyou get the dress" he asked. "You look good too." she said. At the compliment, Drew resorted to his old habit of giving his hair a small flick before she continued. "I noticed it in a store window while we were walking through town earlier. I immediately fell in love with it, but I didn't have a formal enough occasion to wear it to. But then, a wonderful occasion presented itself, and Misty and I went to buy it right after you left. I felt it was time for some sort of change." she replied. Although she said that she felt it time enough for change, Drew noticed that she was still wearing her red bandana. Some things will never change, he thought.

Just then , Ash and Misty walked up. Misty was in a light blue sundress, and Ash in his street clothes. In other words, jeans and a polo shirt. Misty had tried to convince him to leave his hat in his room, but he would hear nothing of it. May looked from Ash to Drew, and was glad her date was the nicer looking one of the two. Drew was dressed in black slacks and a light purple, cotton button up shirt. "Hey, you guys look all fancy too!" Ash said, his eyes darting from one person's clothing to the next. "I didn't know we were supposed to dress all fancy." Ash looked quite down all of a sudden. Maybe he felt out of place, May thought. If that was the case, however, Misty quickly remedied it.

"You look fine! Besides, we're going to see a movie and the theater will be dark. No one will be able to see what you are wearing." she said. "But we're going to dinner afterwards. What if we go somewhere non-casual? I'll feel out of place." So May had been right about him feeling out of place. May suddenly realized how hungry she was, and she nudged Drew with her elbow to get him to say something to help the situation progress. She had a whole movie to sit through before dinner after all. Drew got what she meant and immediately solved the problem. He slapped Ash on the back and said, "Hey, man. We're here to have fun, and no one cares what you look like. Now we should probably get going. The movie starts in twenty minutes, and we need time to get there and then to find our seats."

Ash instantly lightened up and agreed. Everyone left the Pokemon Center lobby feeling better than when they had entered. Whether they had been concerned of looking out of place, or just uneasiness at going on dates, it had been resolved.

* * *

The couples emerged from the movie theater laughing. The movie they had seen was a romance comedy, and the majority of it was comedy. Ash had laughed so hard that the soda he had gotten to drink almost came out his nose, which caused the rest of the group to burst out in mass hysteria. Twice they had been told by the stewardess that if they did not calm down, she would have to ask them to leave. But after each time, she smiled, as if remembering a time when she was on a date with someone, laughing hysterically in a movie theater.

After the laughter the final scene had caused died down, the group was left with the decision of where to go to dinner. "Everyone should say where they want to go so that we can try to incorporate everyone'schoices into one. Where do you want to go Ash?" Drew asked. "Somewhere casual, and where jeans and a polo shirt won't look out of place." he said. "What about you Misty?" Drew shook his head from Ash's response, for it was no help at all. "Oh, I'd like to go somewhere that has seafood." she said enthusiastically. Ash stuck out his tongue in disgust at the mention of eating somewhere with seafood. Great they disagree, that still leaves us nowhere, Drew thought. "How about _you_ May?" he asked turning to her. "I don't care where we go, all I want is food." she replied. That still left them without a single idea of where to go, except for the seafood. "How about some Italian?" Drew asked. He was in the mood for some good pasta. No one verbally agreed, but they all shook their heads yes, and Drew took that as their consent. "Great let's go!" The group set off for the far end of town for some Italian cuisine.

* * *

The couples enjoyed their meals, and every one of them were a little disappointed that nothing exciting had happened. They had probably looked like four friends hanging out, and not four friends on dates.

The cool air outside of the restaurant felt good after sitting in a hot room full of people for an hour and a half. It was dark and May wondered if they should head back to the Pokemon Center. Misty, Ash, and Drew disagreed, however.

"Let's go shopping, Ash. I saw some sunglasses that I would like to buy earlier while shopping with May, but I didn't have time to buy them." Misty said smiling. Ash's facial expression revealed that shopping was not what he would enjoy doing. But he saw the smile on her face, and he smiled too. "Alright. If that's what you want to do." he said. "May, Drew. Do you guys want to come along?" May was about to accept, but Drew beat her to a reply. "No thanks. I think we're going to go for a walk." Drew said while staring at his feet.

He knew May gave him a look of protest, but he ignored it. He waned some alone time with her, and Misty and Ash's presence was starting to bug him. "Oh. Okay then. Guess we'll be off then." Misty winked at May as she walked by. May stuck out her tongue, and then laughed. "What's so funny?" Drew asked. "Oh, nothing. Now were are we going for a walk?"

May and Drew ended up walking along the road just outside of the town. It was around 8:00, and there were no travelers on the road. The two of them walked in silence, and tension hung heavily in the air. Both of them were nervous, and neither one of them could think of anything to say. Finally, Drew broke the silence when he saw a bench on the side of the road. It overlooked a pond, and he thought it might be a nice place to stop and talk. "Why don't we stop here, and sit down?" he suggested. May only nodded. Her mood had changed considerably since they came out of the movie theater. She had been quiet, and not very talkative like her usual self. As they sat down, Drew realized what was wrong. Why didn't I realize it before? God, I'm an idiot, he thought.

He had no doubt that she was thinking about Max. It didn't hurt to check though. "Hey what's wrong?" he asked her. May replied with silence. "It's Max, isn't it? Well I've got something for you if it helps." He reached under the bench and pulled put a rose. "Ta-da!" he said halfheartedly. She took it from him and smiled. "Thanks." she said. She held it in her hands, and they sat in silence for a little while longer before she finally spoke her mind.

"Drew, what if I can't win all the ribbons that I need to? I haven't been in a contest for so long, and I have no idea what kind of skill levels I'll be against. If I lose even one of them, it means that I'll never see Max again." Drew knew that she was scared and afraid. He could see it in her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms, and to never let her go. To tell her that everything was going to be alright, and that he wouldn't let anything hurt her. But he couldn't. If he did, then he was sure he wouldn't be able to carry out the plan, for he would be lying. He was the one going to end up hurting her, and he hated himself for it. He hated Carson. He would have liked nothing more than to go to Carson and to tell him that the deal was off, but again, he couldn't. Then Max would be hurt, and that would hurt May even more. He decided, that for now he would comfort her with words.

"The people at the contests you are going to be participating in are mostly medium quality coordinators. None of them have ever won any big contests like the Wallace Cup of the Grand Festival, and there's only one or two that will give you trouble. If you want then I could enter the contests too. You know to help beat some of the tougher competition. Then we will most likely end up in the final stage together, and I can let you win." Drew knew that she would not accept the idea.

"No, you letting me win in the end would be too suspicious. It would get people talking, and right now that it not what I want." May replied.

"Well, then what is it that you want, May?" Drew asked. She looked into his eyes, and she saw that he truly was concerned. She looked away and stared at the rose in her hands again.

"What if I never see Max again? I love him so much. I mean sometimes he's a pain, but mostly he's the best brother anyone could ask for." she said. Drew saw her eyes fill with tears, and he reached over and took her hand. "I won't let that happen. I promise." he whispered. May looked at him, and he looked at her. Their eyes met, and a strange understanding that neither of them had ever experienced before washed over them.

Drew closed his eyes and leaned forward, and May did the same. All was quiet and serene, until the sound of running foot steps echoed through the night that is. Drew and May turned to the direction the sound was coming from. To their surprise, Misty and Ash came running up.

"We have to leave, now!" Misty said, gasping for air. "We ran from town to get you guys. The contest in Lilycove, it's been moved to five days from now." Ash said panting. "What?! But it was supposed to be two weeks from now! How'd you guys find out about this." May asked. "Here." Misty handed her a newspaper. May set the rose down on the bench and took it. There it was, right on the front page. A small notice that the contest date had been moved.

"Your right Misty. We do have to leave _right now._" Drew said reading over May's shoulder. "This can't be happening." May said as she stood up. Drew stood with her and assured her that everything would be alright. She gave him a doubtful glance, but he ignored it and turned to Ash. "When does the next train leave for Lilycove? We need the soonest train scheduled to leave possible." "Uh, 10:00 I think. We've got time to get everything from the Pokemon Center, and then get to the train station. If we leave right now that is." he replied. "Then we basically have no time to waste. Let's go everyone." May said as she started sprinting back towards the town. The others followed.

The rose that May had received, rose number six, was left on the bench, and forgotten.

* * *

This is by far the longest chapter so far, but I couldn't help it. I just had to keep writing. Alright chapter 7 is complete! Poor 6th rose. Thanks for reading everyone. Leave a review if you hated it, liked it, or loved it!


	8. Chapter 8

Okey dokey. The eighth chapter! Hmm It took me a little while to write this and i'll explain at the end why! hope you enjoy. (warning before hand: this is _not _one of my better chapters)

* * *

There was no doubt that May was afraid. She was worried that they wouldn't make it to the train station in time. The group was racing towards the station at top speed. Everyone was afraid they wouldn't make it.

"Look! The station!" Ash gasped. They could see the dim lights radiating from the small building, and they made a surprisingly startling contrast to the other whys pitch black night.

May's heart leapt, and her speed increased. She was the first one to reach the doors. Flinging them open, she burst into the building, and her comrades followed.

The person at the desk looked up from reading and was surprised that there were people there at that hour. "May I help you?" the woman asked. May dashed over to the desk. "Yes. We-we need, we need…," May was winded from the run and had a hard time talking, so Drew, who wasn't as short of breath as her, finished the sentence. "We need four tickets to Lilycove please," he said.

The woman glanced at the computer screen that was sitting on the desk. "I'm very sorry, but the train for Lilycove left two minutes ago. There is another one in the morning that I can get you tickets for if you would like," She said she was sorry, but her eyes revealed that she could care less about the traveling of four teenage kids.

May's heart sank and she dropped to the floor, her back against the desk. She buried her head in her hands and tears fell freely from her eyes. Misty and Ash looked at each other and then at May. They knew that the train that had just left was the only one that could get them to Lilycove in time for the contest.

Drew pounded his fist on the desk ledge and turned away. He stared out into the night, thinking. Was there another way to get there in time? Drew knew there was, but it was risky and he hadn't had much experience with it. Even though the plan could backfire, the method he was thinking of would get them there twice as fast as the train.

"We could take my Flygon," he said, still facing the door. "What?!" Misty and Ash said simultaneously. "I said we could take my Flygon. You know, ride on his back. It would get us there twice as fast and we'd be there at least a day early for the contest," he said. By this time, May had raised her head. She was looking at Drew through tear filled eyes. Ash, Misty, and even May herself, were thinking that Drew had gone crazy. Ash was the first person to point out the obvious point that everyone was thinking of.

"Not all four of us can go Drew. That'd be like torture to Flygon," Ash said. Drew turned back around and looked awkwardly at the floor. "By we, I meant May and I," he said. Misty's mouth dropped into an O and Ash eyes widened. "You're right Ash. All four of us can't go. Only two of us can," Drew replied.

"Well if only two of us can go, then I believe it should be May and I," Misty said. Everyone looked at her like she was nuts. "Misty, there are three reasons why you probably shouldn't go. First off, you are not a coordinator. Secondly, you would have no idea how to navigate your way to Lilycove from here. And lastly, you have never flown a Flygon," Drew said. The first two reasons Misty questioned, but the third, unfortunately for her, rang true.

"Uh, well, okay then. You going is a much better idea," she agreed.

By this time, May and gotten up and was standing next to Drew. "Have you ever flown a Flygon?" she whispered. "Yeah, a couple times," he replied. This answer didn't exactly make May feel 100% safe, but it was Drew and May trusted him.

"Misty and I will wait for the next train. We'll meet you guys in Lilycove. Although I don't think we'll be there in time for all of the contest," Ash said. "Okay. If that's what you guys want to do," May said. She obviously wasn't 100% sure about the idea.

May and Drew walked outside and Drew called out his Flygon. "Drew, we could have still probably made it if we took the train you know," May said. Drew smiled and looked away. "Yeah. I know. I just wanted to spend some more time alone, with you," he said.

* * *

So i said i'd explain why, and here it is. The whole Flygon idea was the only thing i could come up with, and i know that some of you probably don't like it. But the whole progression of the story and romance between May and Drew needed some "different" progression. So that's why this chapter was like that. Please leave a review if you want.


	9. Chapter 9

hmm outlines are so helpful! i've started to outline my chapters and it's making things a lot easier. it only takes me like 30mins to make the outline, and then only like an hour or so to write the entire chapter! lolz here's chapter 9 for you! things seem to be progressing nicely.

* * *

Drew was riding in the front, and May sat behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist. May was glad she'd called Drew to help with finding her brother. He had contributed to the progression of the group's movements quite a lot, and they were actually flying together. May had only dreamt of flying with Drew, and her decision to invite him in the end turned her dream into a reality.

The take off had been quite bumpy, and at first May wasn't sure that it was a good idea. She had held on to Drew so tightly that he had politely her that he was having trouble breathing. He had been joking, and she had laughed lightly, but her grip did not loosen.

But now the ride had smoothed out and they were gliding through the air. The sky was clear and all the stars were visible. Drew's sight was not turned towards the sky, however. Instead, his vision was fixated on the ground. The long distance from Lavaridge to Lilycove was covered with rolling hills and green forests. It was not heavily populated and the only houses to be seen were those of farmers. Each house was secluded and set away from the rest, and the lights that radiated from the windows gave warmth to an otherwise cold night.

"What was it like in Jubilife?" Drew asked. May took her time answering. "It was busy and crowded. There were a lot of people, and every where you went you were followed by noise. You obviously experienced the same thing in Hearthome," she said. "Yeah. There were a lot of people. Sinnoh seems a lot more populated than Hoenn," he replied.

Both of them sat in silence for a while, until May looked at the sky, "I forgot what it was like to see a whole sky full of stars. The lights in Jubilife made it so you couldn't see them." Drew moved his gaze to the sky. "I haven't actually looked at the stars in a long time," he said. The two of them fell into a long silence.

Suddenly, May remembered the rose. No, how could I have left it, she thought. She had just decided no to tell Drew when her phone rang. May carefully unwrapped one of her arms from around Drew's waist and reached into her pocket. She was still holding on with one arm, and moving with out falling off was quite the challenge. With a lot of difficulty, she finally was able to retrieve it. Before answering, she glanced at her phone's clock. An hour and a half had already passed since her and Drew had left. Time really does fly, she thought to herself.

"Hello?" she said into the speaker. "Hey May! It's Misty! I just called to let you know that Ash and I got a train that came in," Misty said. "You mean Drew and I could have waited and ridden on the train?" May asked her. "Well you could have, but you guys going ahead was a better idea. You'll get there earlier for the contest. Plus it'll give you some more time _alone_ together," she teased. May blushed and silently gave thanks for being behind Drew. Since it was dark, however, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. "I don't know what you're talking about," May replied. "Uh huh. Of course you don't." May could see Misty smiling through the phone. "You and Ash should head straight to Lilycove. Drew and I will probably stop in Fortree City to rest Flygon," May deliberatley changed the subject. "Okay. I guess we'll see you there then," Misty said.

After hanging up, May once again had trouble with her phone. As she went to put it back, a granola bar fell out of her pocket and plummeted towards the earth. "No!" she yelled as she watched it fall. "What's wrong?" Drew asked. "I just dropped my granola bar! It was my last one, and i'm hungry!" May said. Drew laughed, "Don't worry. When we stop in Fortree I will get you some more granola bars." May rested her head on Drew's back, "You better!" she said.

* * *

hmm my chapters seem to be getting shorter. I think it's easier for me to get chapters done faster if they're short. Can you guys help me out? Did you like the chapters when they were longer, shorter, or you just don't care? :D


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 is here! Yay I feel so accomplished to have gotten this far. I've decided to write shorter chapters btw. Oh and this chapter bounces to what is happening with Max. Nothing major, well maybe...it depends on what i feel like including :)

* * *

Max sat alone in a small room. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there.

The room around him was made of steel. Every wall, and even the door was hard, cold steel. It seemed to Max, that the room was a storage place of some sort. Stacks of boxes where piled here and there and labels such as "use caution while handling" were stamped onto them.

Max had already attempted to get out, but the door was barred shut and the only other way he could have gotten out was a small window that sat high up on the wall. Unfortunately for Max, the base of the window was higher than he was able to reach. He had already tried to stack boxes on top of each other, but that had resulted in multiple falls. The boxes just weren't strong enough to hold him up. It was either that, or he didn't have enough balance.

So, Max had given up his efforts to escape and was now sitting on the steel floor. He had his knees pulled up against his chest and looked quite helpless. In the current situation, he was helpless. He now tried to remember exactly what had happened to him.

"It was night time, and I had just walked out of the Pokemon Center. I was going to train my Gardevoir. I rounded the center's corner and....and.....and what!? Why can't I remember anything!?" He pounded his fist against the ground in aggravation.

"It makes no sense. I was walking through Lavaridge content and happy, and then the next thing I know I wake up in a steel room with no way out," he said aloud. He was repeating everything to himself, trying to make sense of the situation.

"If only I had my Gardevoir. I could get out of here! Ugh, where is my Gardevoir?" When Max woke up and checked his bag, Gardevoir's poke ball had not been there. While he looked for an exit, he had also searched for his Gardevoir, but hadn't found it anywhere.

The space in between the rounding of the corner and the awakening in the steel room was a large black space. The repetition of the events was getting him no where and he decided to just give up. He let his thoughts wander, and after a little while they settled to circulate on his sister, May. He hadn't seen her in a while and he missed her. It wasn't just being locked in a room that made him miss her, he genuinely missed her.

For months before he left he had been meaning to call her and ask about how she had been, but he had been helping his dad with the gym renovations and had never gotten around to it. Now, as he sat on the cold floor, he felt guilty. What if he never saw her again?

She'd never know about all the cool things he'd figured out about Pokemon and how he'd been offered an assistant position to Professor Birch himself.

He was so lost in thought, that, at first, he did not notice the Bidoof that had crawled out from behind a stack of boxes.

He continued to not notice that it was there until the small creature crawled up to him.

"Whoa! How did you get in here?" Max asked it. "Bi-doo!" it replied. It hopped over to a pile of boxes and disappeared behind it. Max stood up and walked to where the Bidoof had disappeared. He was greeted with the sight of a piece of the wall lying on the floor and the Bidoof standing next to it. The part of the wall had been moved, and in its place there was what seemed to be a small passage way.

The passageway was dark, and Max couldn't see where it led to. He got on his knees and peered into the darkness. If his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, then he thought he could make out a change of light at the end of the darkness.

"That means it must have a turn in it somewhere," he said aloud. The Bidoof sat by the entrance just watching him. Luckily, the tunnel was big enough for Max to fit through.

"Since you got in here then that must mean that this leads either to the outside, or to a place where people are," Max said to the Bidoof. The creature just stared at him. Max then turned back to the hole in the wall.

"Well, here goes nothing!" and he crawled into the darkness with the Bidoof following.

* * *

ahhh the chance of escape. but where will the tunnel lead do you think? guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter XD that shouldnt be long though since it's spring break for me. i'll have a lot of free time on my hands so expect updates rather quickly....err scratch that. i may update quickly...at least that's what i hope will happen.


	11. Chapter 11

here's chapter eleven!

* * *

"Look. There's Fortree," Drew said as the small city came into view. The city blended in well with the surrounding forest and at first glance you probably would not have realized it was there. The only things that were clearly identifiable were the blue and red tops of the Pokemon Center and the PokeMart.

"It's been so long since I've been here," May said. It was true that May hadn't been to Fortree since traveling with Ash and Brock, yet she still remembered the events of the Feather Carnival that had been taking place. Now the city was calm and serene, however, and as Drew landed his Flygon, there seemed to be no one around.

"Hello?" May called as she jumped to the ground. She turned her head first left, then right. No one answered her.

"They're probably all eating food or something. It is only five in the morning," Drew said. May laughed at her own foolishness. Of course no one would be awake at five in the morning, she thought.

"Yeah well I can't think straight! I haven't had any food since dinner last night! And my poor midnight snack is somewhere along the road between here and Lavaridge!" she said sticking her tongue out at Drew. Drew looked at her quizzically. How often did she need to have food, he wondered.

"Don't blame me. It wasn't my fault you dropped your granola bar. I promised you i'd buy you some more so here. Go to the PokeMart and buy some," he said handing here a ten dollar bill. May stuck her tongue out at him one more time and then turned. She decided that she was going to try and walk in the cool type of style that Drew always walked in, slow and even.

She took a few steps and smiled. It felt pretty cool to walk that way. Apparently it didn't look cool though.

"Uh, May. What are you doing?" Drew asked. May stopped and blushed. "Trying to walk like you," she said. Drew smiled and flicked his hair from his face. "Only I can walk like that," he said smiling.

May blushed some more and then hurried away to the PokeMart.

She walked across several bridges and passed a few houses before she arrived at the blue roofed building. Luckily, it was open. She walked through the sliding doors and looked around. The shop was small and there were only three aisles. The aisles did not contain many display cases or shelves, but the shelves that were there were crammed full of things. May's eyes widened at all the different types of food.

Before starting into the different shelves of food, she glanced at the check out counter. An old lady who was reading a magazine sat there. The old woman glanced up from her reading and gave May a quick smile. May smiled back, and then turned her attention back to the food.

A bag of cookies piqued her interest and she walked over to the shelf. She picked up the bag and her eyes widened even more. There was a bag of beef jerky. Sitting there on the shelf. Behind the cookies. She looked to the right of the cookies and beef jerky and became even more confused. To the right of the already terribly placed food items, was a package of tofu. Who shelved these items, May thought.

She searched through a few shelves until she finally found some granola bars. Once she had the flavors she wanted, since she was very picky about food and only her favorite flavors would do, she started towards the check out counter.

As she rounded the end of the aisle, she walked right into someone else and the impact of the collision caused her to drop her granola bars. She quickly scrambled to pick them up, and the person she had collided with helped her.

As she picked up the last one, she looked up into the most striking blue eyes she had ever seen. It was the same man that she had run into in Lavaridge! He was wearing the same large black cloak, had the same black hair, and the eyes were unmistakably the same.

"Well hello again miss. We run into each other once again. Literally!" he said smiling and handing her back the granola bars.

"It seems we're destined to meet by walking into each other," May replied smiling. "Well if we are going to keep running into each other than I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Cade Lazaret. I am a co-ordinator from Johto. May I ask who you are?" Cade asked. "My names May. I'm from Hoenn and I'm also a co-ordinator. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in Fortree? I mean, we just saw each other in Lavaridge," she replied.

"I am on my way to Lilycove to visit my brother, Carson. I have not seen him for quite some time and I have been missing him terribly lately. It should be great to see him," Cade answered. For some reason unknown to Cade, May's mood had dimmed. "Oh. What is your brother like?" May asked, staring at the floor.

"We're twins so he looks pretty much the same as me. Although, he is a businessman and tends to prefer suits to the type of clothing i wear," he said gesturing to his cloak. "Now, Miss May. If you don't mind me asking, why are you in Fortree?"

"I am on my way to Lilycove too. I'm headed there for a Pokemon Contest," May replied.

"Ah! So you are just stopping in Fortree for a quick snack!" Cade said with a smile. May blushed, "Food's kind of important to me."

"And, I certainly hope not but, you aren't traveling alone are you?" Cade asked. "You ask a lot of questions," May said, "but no. I am traveling with someone. I would very much like you to meet him."

May didn't notice it, but there was a certain hesitation when Cade replied.

"I'd like to meet them," he said. "Great! Let me pay for these and then we can go," May said.

May walked up to the check out and placed the granola bars on the counter. The old woman looked up from reading and rang up the items. After that, May and Cade left the store. As they were walking out the sliding doors, Cade offered May has arm. May giggled and took it. "Why thank you sir," she said with a smile.

The two of them back tracked to where Drew was and found him turned towards his Flygon. At the sound of footsteps, he turned around and smiled. When he saw who was with May, however, his smile quickly faded.

This man looks exactly like...Wait, no. The clothes were different. Carson would never wear anything like the clothes the man walking in front of him was wearing. Then, like a large wave, the knowledge of Carson having a brother hit Drew and there was a sudden sharp intake of breath.

"Who's this?" Drew asked calmly. He had to stay calm. "This is Cade Lazaret," May stated plainly. "He's on his way to Lilycove to visit his brother."

Drew looked at Cade, and Cade back at Drew. Cade was wondering why Drew had asked. They had met once before. A long time ago.

"I'm Drew. Nice to meet you," Drew replied. The two of them stepped forward and shook hands. May saw the questioning glances exchanged between the two of them and she thought they were meant as _"_can i trust this person" looks. But unknown to her, there was a second meaning.

Drew then glanced at his watch.

"We should probably get going May. We stopped, rested, and got you your granola bars. If your going to make the registration time then we need to leave like, now," Drew said. "Aw okay," she replied as she walked over to the Flygon. The two of them climbed onto the creatures back and prepared for take off.

"I guess we'll see each other in Lilycove," May said, smiling down at Cade. "I guess so. Have a good trip there," Cade replied. Drew gave the command for the Flygon to take off, and soon they were in the air. May looked down and waved to Cade and he waved back.

Drew didn't glance down once.

* * *

chapter 11 got long again! i didn't mean it to but there wasn't really a place for me to separate it into 2 parts...oh well! review of you want!


	12. Chapter 12

back to school and once again i run out of time to write! recently i had a scare that i was going to be grounded from my computer for the rest of the month but everything worked out okay! here's chapter 12!

* * *

Two teenage kids, a boy and a girl, sprinted towards the Contest Stadium in the center of the town. The girl, not overly tall, had brown hair and a red bandanna on her head. The boy, who was taller, had short green hair and wore a purple jacket.

A man with a black suit and sunglasses rose from a nearby bench and walked around to the back of the stadium. A phone booth waited for him there, and he had a very important call to make.

"Slow down Drew! I'm the one registering for the competition not you!" May yelled as she tried her best to keep up with him. Drew didn't listen and charged on ahead of her.

May still had almost caught up with him when he entered the stadium. May crashed through the door behind him and then crashed into Drew. For some reason, he had stopped as soon as he entered the building. The two of them were sent hurtling towards the floor.

They hit the floor hard and both of them were sent rolling in different directions.

"Drew! Why did you stop running?" May questioned him as she rolled over onto her back. She slowly moved every part of her body to make sure nothing was injured. Luckily, Drew had broken the fall and nothing hurt too much when she moved it.

"I wasn't going to run headlong into the front desk or anything."

May looked over to see Drew already on his feet. He was staring down at her with a small grin on his lips. He offered to help her too her feet, and without any reluctance, May took his outstretched hand. She was halfway to her feet when she noticed that Drew's grin had widened.

"Drew! Don't you dare!"

But it was too late. He let go of her hand and she fell again. Drew, however, was not that mean.

Just as May was about to hit the floor again he caught her hand. She glared at him.

"Not funny." She said.

"I think it was."

"Well you almost didn't hit the floor."

At this May stuck her tongue out at him. Once again Drew offered her his hand. May took it and was standing in less than a second.

"That was fast."

"I didn't want to give you the opportunity to drop me again." she said. For the first time since they had come crashing through the door, May looked around her. What she saw was to be expected. A sea of confused, and some slightly amused, faces were staring back at her. May suddenly felt awkward.

"I think I should probably go register now." May started walking towards the front desk and Drew fell in step next to her. Just as they reached it, Drew's phone rang. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Something fell out of his pocket along with it. May reached down to pick it up.

"How'd you get this?" She straightened and in her hand was a granola bar. She had safely stashed them all in her bag to make sure that he wouldn't take any of them.

Drew smiled and shrugged before answering the call.

"Hello?"

__

"I need to speak with you privately. Could you step outside for a moment please Drew?"

"One second please."

Drew covered the mouth piece with his hand. "I'm going to have to take this call outside. The reception in here is terrible. Why don't you register and wait for me here? This shouldn't take long." he told May. May nodded and Drew strode out of the stadium. As he was walking out the door he resumed his conversation.

"What do you want?" It was almost as if he hissed the words.

_"I would just like to confirm a few pieces of information with you. Ah good. I see you left the girl inside. Come around the back of the stadium and we will talk then."_

The phone line went dead. Drew shut his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He had gone from smiling and laughing with May, to being more nervous than he ever had been before. Well, the date with May didn't count. He would never be as nervous as he had been then.

Drew looked up at the large, white stadium. It was circular and there was a cement path leading around the entire perimeter of it. There really was no "back of the stadium" if someone really thought that much about it. He started along the cement pathway towards the "back" of the stadium. He rounded the corner and instantly recognized who his caller had been.

Drew's steps slowed to an even slower speed than normal as he approached the man. The man was playing with his phone and didn't notice Drew until he heard footsteps. Only then did he look up. A small smile creased his lips as he spotted the green haired boy walking towards him.

"It's good to see you again Drew." The man's voice was low and gruff. The man himself was dressed from head to toe in the outfit of a successful businessman. His eyes were hidden beneath a pair of dark sunglasses and his hair was jet black and had been cut short.

"I'd rather see anyone else but you." Drew's words dripped with venom. He was not afraid to show his hatred for Carson.

"Ah bit cruel don't you think? Especially since I've been helping you out so much lately. The contest didn't have to be moved to today, but I figured I'd do something nice for that May of yours. Considering I did kidnap her brother and build my entire plan on the foundation that she could get me my ransom." Carson smiled down at Drew. What he had done had sent them into a panic and he knew that it would. The only way that the date of the contest changing helped them was somewhere inside Carson's mind, and it was bound to be twisted.

Drew's face darkened and the fire that had slowly started to kindle in his eyes gained strength.

"You were the one who changed the date of the contest? May almost had a heart attack she was so afraid that she wouldn't get here in time! I knew you were terrible but obviously not how terrible."

At this Carson's smile widened. It was a sickening smile that he possessed, one that showed that he enjoyed watching the sufferings of other people.

"We both know what type of person I am, Drew. And I know what type of person you are. You may not know it yet, but I do. You're just like me when I was younger." Carson said. Even though he was smiling from ear to ear, he was still able to increase the intensity of the sickening smile.

The fire that had been kindling low in Drew's eyes now rose to a steady flicker.

"How could you possibly know what kind of a person I am going to be? I have my whole life to decide who I want to be. And let me make one thing crystal clear to you. I am nothing like you. I don't even need this! I could quit working for you whenever I wanted to! Matter of fact I've been considering that option a whole lot lately." Drew had always taken pride in the fact that he was able to stay calm in any situation, but he was losing it.

"You can't quit. At least not currently. Are you so angry at me that you are forgetting that I currently have May's little brother in my possession?"

Drew had forgotten.

"And I am sure you do not want anything to happen to him…or May for that matter."

Drew's face went white and he just stared back at Carson.

"That's right Drew. May and Max could be, shall we say, "taken care of" at a moments notice. If anything differs from my plan that is unfavorable for the outcome then May will be gone."

Drew's eyes, that held a fire of hatred that had been slowly growing through out their entire conversation, was now set ablaze. His face went from white to bright red, and he lost his temper.

"You wouldn't dare! If you so much as stepped foot with in a ten yard radius of her I swear Carson I would kill you! And if you doubt my words then just try it and she what happens!" Drew was yelling now and under his sunglasses Carson's eyes were nervously glancing back and forth. The more Drew yelled, the more the two of them would draw attention.

"Haha! I wouldn't worry to much about it. My plan isn't likely to go wrong. You do need to calm down though. People may start to wonder about our friendly conversation. But I don't have a lot more time to waste anyway. All I needed to talk to for was to give you this."

With this Carson pulled an envelope out from inside his suit jacket and held it out for Drew to take. Drew stared at it for a while before taking it from him.

"What does it say and who's it for?" Drew asked.

"It'd be much appreciated if you gave that to our lovely Miss May. It wishes her luck with the competition and reminds her what is at stake." Carson replied.

"Is that all then?"

"So full of questions! Yes. That is all you are needed for at the moment. I'm glad we were able to have this little chat. It reminded me of how we first met you know, but we will reminisce about that some other time. You best be getting back to May now. Just so she doesn't start to wonder where you went…I wouldn't want to worry her." Carson smiled.

Drew turned around and started to walk away. From behind him, he heard one last thing that Carson said to him.

"I wouldn't get too close to her you know. She is in quite a precarious situation at the moment."

Drew broke out into a run and heard Carson laugh behind him. Soon Drew was back to the front of the stadium. He looked at the letter in his hand and crushed it in his hand. He threw it onto the ground before he walked through the sliding doors.

A few minutes late, a man in a black suit and black sunglasses passed by the front of the stadium. He only stopped walking once, and that was to pick up a piece of paper that had been thrown onto the ground. To the people around him it seemed like he was being a good citizen and picking up litter, but to the man it was anything but a piece of trash. It was part of his plan.

Bad decision Drew, he thought.

____

* * *

well there you have it! reviews are much appreciated! if it's your second time reading this then that's probably because I had to make a few corrections.


	13. Chapter 13

here's chapter 13! and i'd like to thank Arysd for all her help and support :D

* * *

Max's trip through the tunnel was taking him longer than he had expected. What he had thought to be the outside world, was actually a light. Like, and actual light that comes from a light bulb.

The discovery of the light neither disappointed or excited him and he pressed on through the tunnel.

The walls were made of metal and there was a slight breeze flowing through the dark tunnel. From this Max was able to conclude that the tunnel was probably used for air conditioning in the storage room.

But then there was the light on the wall and the size of the duct. Although Max was 17, he was still quite short for his age. His entire build was small, which allowed him to easily fit through the spaces in the duct. Even if he was more largely built, he wouldn't have had to worry about fitting. The duct was quite roomy, and a full grown man could probably fit through the it with out too many difficulties. Max decided that this meant the duct had probably once been used for some kind of escape route or something to that effect.

Crawling on his hands and knees through the darkness was starting to get tiresome when Max came to a fork in the duct. One passageway led to the right and the other to the left. The Bidoof that had happily been walking behind Max now came to sit next to him.

"Which way now? You had to have gotten in here somehow." Max said turning to the little creature.

"Bi-doo!" it replied happily as it started to walk down the right path.

"The right huh? Well may as well give it a shot!"

Max followed the creature down the right air duct and smiled to himself. Oddly, he was having fun.

* * *

Elsewhere, back in the storage room, a man in a black suit and a man who was wearing a black cloak walked through the metal door and were greeted with the sight of an empty room.

"Where is he!?" Carson began looking behind the piles of boxes. The boy he had left there was gone. Carson then turned to his acquaintance.

"I thought you told me that this room had no escape routes. This was the ideal place to keep a 17 year old boy according to you." Carson continued to walk around the room. Soon, he stumbled upon the open air duct. He turned again to the man who had accompanied him to the room.

"This looks like quite a large escape route, wouldn't you say?" Carson stood and walked towards the other man.

"I don't appreciate being lied to Cade." Carson stared into the eyes of his younger brother.

"I didn't lie Carson. That air duct cover was bolted to the wall. It would be impossible for a 17 year old kid to open it." Cade replied. Cade was strongly against all of the shady deals and organizations his brother was involved in, and this time Carson had gone to far. Kidnapping a 17 year old boy and using his 19 year old sister to get the ransom that was requested was where Cade drew the line. Especially since his arrival in Lilycove, when he had learned that that 19 year old sister was the same may he had met in Fortree.

"Huh." Carson grunted. "Where does that tunnel lead?"

"I'm not sure. I've never actually climbed through it. We should probably check outside for any openings, and we may want to get going. That duct may lead directly outside." Cade started walking towards the door but stopped when his brother hadn't followed.

"Re-bolt it first." Carson demanded.

"What? Why?"

"So that if we cut him off on the outside then he won't be able to come back."

"We could just relock the door." Cade suggested. His brother, as he expected, shook his head in disagreement.

"No re-bolt it." Cade sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out two poke balls and called out a Geodude and a Shinx.

"Okay you guys. Let's get working." Cade told them. They set off to work on the air duct cover and Carson hovered over his brother's shoulder, watching his every move.

"I'm trying to work here." Cade said annoyed.

"I'm just making sure that you don't mess up or anything." Carson said. Cade rolled his eyes at his brother's obsession with perfection. He wanted everything to be perfect, yet he realized that perfection was impossible. Cade finished his job rather quickly and stood up.

"That should just about do it." He said as he recalled his Pokemon and walked towards the door. Carson was bending down observing the job his brother had done. Eventually he stood up and shook his head.

"How could that kid have possibly unbolted the cover?" He said. He took a step towards the door and then looked at his brother. The blue eyes that normally sparkled with amusement were had now been dimmed. Cade was staring at his brother. A cool even stare that could send chills through the body of the cruelest people alive. Carson was slightly nervous.

"Cade...what's the matter?" he asked. His brother just kept staring.

"I don't get it all I said was how could he have unbolted the cover...Is something wrong with that?" A plan had been forming inside of Cade's head. Ever since Cade had learned of the plan, he had pondered over how he could help May, Drew, and Max. The idea was flawless.

"Whatever your planning won't work little brother. I know you want to help the girl and her brother. I can see it in your eyes. Every part of my plan was made to be flexible in case such a thing as revolt happened. You can't win." Carson smiled a nervous smile.

"You're not the only one who got any smarts from mom and dad. I inherited my fair share too." With those words, Cade slammed the metal door shut and locked it with the key he had grabbed from Carson's pocket.

"Big mistake Cade!" Carson yelled through the door.

"Don't worry, bro. I know what I'm doing. Your plan is done for. I've had one thought circulating through my head since you told me about the plan, and that thought is the perfect way to stop you."

"Ha! As if you could stop my plan from taking effect! The contest starts in a few hours. There's no way May and Drew will be able to figure out that that boy escaped by then. She'll win the competition and then move on to the next. It's as easy as that. Some things have been happening in your favor, however. Things such as the loosened air duct cover. But that's about it!"

Carson was hysterical inside the small storage room. He knew that his brother was capable of stopping his entire plan in an instant.

"Heh. You think that the loosened air duct cover was just lucky? Oh no big brother! That boy had some help with that." Cade was smiling from ear to ear. It was working! His brother was helpless and trapped inside the small room. Now all that was left was to find the boy, return him to his sister, and get the police.

Now, to find that boy.

* * *

The crawl down the air duct seemed never ending and Max was starting to get tired. The Bidoof that was poking along in front of him was also showing signs of getting tired.

"How long have we been crawling around here?" Max asked of the little creature.

"Bi-doo." the creature replied. They were both quite discouraged. The small little Bidoof had not remebered the trip inside being so long...maybe they had chosen the wrong tunnel to go down back when the duct forked into the two seperate ways.

They crawled on and on, and the same conversation as before was repeated several times more. Then, when Max was just about to give up and head back the way they had come, the Bidoof got a spark of energy and took off running.

"Wait! Don't leave me here!" Max called. He quickly scrambled after the Bidoof. Max rounded a corner in the tunnel and his heart fell. The Bidoof was standing at a dead end. Would he really have to go all the way back?

"But we came so far!" Max whined. He sat back against the wall and buried his head in his hands. The Bidoof came over and nudged his leg.

"Bi-doo! Bi-doo!" It said. Max looked at it in confusion. The creature was happy for some reason. Suddenly, the Bidoof ran back to the dead end and stood up on its back legs. I didn't even know a Bidoof could do that, Max thought.

The creature was nosing the ceiling of the tunnel. Max got back on his hands and knees and crawled over to the Bidoof.

"What is it little fella?" he asked. The Bidoof just kept nosing the ceiling. Max looked up and examined the ceiling. He discoverd that where the plate would normally connect with the walls of the tunnel there were tiny black creases. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He put his hands firmly on the ceiling plate and pushed up.

Slowly, he felt something move. The dead end was his way out! He pushed harder and harder on the plate and it continued moving. Soon, little rays of light penetrated into the dark tunnel. Max continued pushing upwards and his excitement rose. Suddenly, the entire plate was lifted from its place and light flooded through the tunnel.

Max's eyes snapped shut. The amount of brightness of the outside world was a huge change from the darkness of the tunnel. Max slowly opened his eyes, a little afraid of what he may see. He was only some what confused when he looked up to see a tall man with blue eyes smiling down at him.

"Looked like you could use some help." The man smiled and helped pull Max out of the tunnel. The Bidoof jumped up after him.

"Uh. Thanks." Max said as he brushed himself off.

"We should get to the contest stadium. Your sister is probably starting her contest right about now. Oh and by the way, the name's Cade."

"My sister!? Oh yeah I"m Max. Where are we?" Max looked around him, and Cade didn't need to answer. It was clear from the view overlooking the city that they were in Lilycove.

"Now how did I get here?" Max questioned.

"Ah ah ah! No time for questions. We've got to move, move, move!" Cade said as he broke out into a run.

"Wait! What's going on!? Ugh. Come on Bidoof. Guess we should follow him."

"Bi-doo!" the creature said. The Bidoof and Max took off running after Cade. Max had no idea where he was going other than the fact that it was, if Cade hadn't lied, towards his sister.

* * *

Okey dokey so I know this part of the story is a little rushed and a lot of things aren't explained but cut me some slack! science is annoying the heck outta me. yes, science! by that i mean a large homework project that is one of those projects that are time consuming, pointless, and the only reason your teachers assigns it to you is to be mean! but all my whining aside, thanx for reading :D


	14. Chapter 14

the final chapter! hope you like it!

* * *

The doors leading onto the contest stage now stood before her. May had gone through them so many times before, so why was she so nervous? There were no coordinator prodigies in the contest, and it should have been a very relaxed easy win for her. But she was still worried.

Drew had done everything he could before the trial to help her calm down, but it wasn't working.

"Calm down May." she told herself out loud. She took a deep breath and tried to clear her thoughts. Unfortunately, as she did so, the doors swung open and her name was announced over the speaker system.

At first, the crowd was silent. Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. They had just heard the name May Maple announced over the speaker system. May Maple had not participated in a competition in the Hoenn league in over 2 years.

"Here goes nothing." she said, and she stepped into the light.

When the crowd saw that it was actually her, it erupted into a tumult of applause and cheers. May smiled and pulled out her pokeball.

"Okay Beautifly. It may have been a while, but let's see if we've still got what it takes!"

Back in the waiting room Drew was sitting with Misty and Ash, who had arrived shortly after May left to get ready for the contest. All of their eyes were focused on the TV screen. So focused, in fact, that none of them turned towards the door when it opened and slid shut again.

Drew only turned to look when he heard his name called. He turned around and saw Cade standing there.

"I've got to talk to you." was all he said before walking back outside. Drew stood up, told Ash and Misty that he wouldn't be long, and walked outside. It felt exactly the same as leaving to talk with Carson earlier in the day.

Drew walked out the door, and stopped dead in his tracks. He was staring at Cade and Max sitting on a bench. Max. He was safe.

"Oh thank god." he said as he continued walking towards them. He stopped before them and then started pacing. As relieved as he was to see Max again, there were still a lot of things that didn't make sense.

"How?" was all Drew said.

Cade looked at Max, and Max looked at Cade.

"Uh, wutcha mean Drew?" Max asked. Max was a little confused as to why Drew was there in the first place but Drew seemed kind of tense so he didn't bother to ask.

"How are you here! Carson was keeping you some where that even I didn't know about. Cade, explain this to me." Drew was thinking. Carson was going to be mad. Somehow, Cade was able to get Max away from Carson, and that was good. But Max was away from Carson, which was also bad. Carson liked perfection, and the whole kidnapping part of his plan had fallen apart. Both Drew's Pokemon and Coordinator Rights were at stake.

"Well I arrived in Lilycove and Carson told me about his plan. I don't really approve of everything my brother does and in my opinion kidnapping a kid was going way too far."

Cade continued to tell Drew about what had happened. Drew said nothing and kept pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. When necessary, Max added to the story and soon Drew had a somewhat clear idea as to what had happened.

"Carson won't be in that room long. We have to somehow get May out of the contest…" Drew had stopped pacing and was now busy thinking.

"Wait, why does May have to stop the contest? Shouldn't she just finish it?" Max asked. Max still didn't fully understand that he had been held for ransom.

Cade quickly tried to explain.

"Well if your sister continues with the contest then she may be in danger. We can't help her if she's in the middle of her performance."

Drew nodded. He didn't think that Carson would try something with an entire stadium of people watching, but now that they had Max, it didn't hurt to make sure.

"Speaking of performance, we should go see how May did. Her performance in the first stage should be over." Drew was eager to know how she did after her nervous breakdown beforehand.

The three of them made there way back inside and were greeted with the sight of an empty room.

"Well that's weird. Where did Misty and Ash go?" Max asked. The TV was still on and it showed the results of the first stage. Drew looked at the screen and was shocked. May hadn't made it to the 2nd round!

"I know where they went." Drew sprinted towards the coordinator's dressing rooms and left Cade and Max in the lobby. He rounded a corner and found Misty, Ash, and May. May had her head buried in her hands and Misty was sitting next to her trying to console her.

They all looked up when he arrived and May leapt to her feet. Not caring that Misty and Ash were there, she ran to Drew and threw her arms around his neck. Taken aback for a moment, Drew wrapped his arms around her. May was crying, and the thought that he knew was running through her head was that she had blown it and that she'd never see Max again.

"Max is safe you know." He whispered into her ear. May stepped back and stared at him through tear filled eyes.

He's safe. He's out in the lobby with Cade." Drew repeated. May just continued to stare at him. At least Drew _thought _that she was staring at him. In reality however, she was staring past him, at the people who had walked through the door.

After kissing Drew on the cheek and leaving him surprised and blushing a bright red, she ran past him and threw her arms around her brother who had been silently standing there. He hugged her back and they were both laughing and crying at the same time. May's crying had been turned from despair to happiness in less than a second, a rare occurrence in the real world. Everyone else in the room smiled at seeing the reunion between sister and brother and no one spoke a word. Eventually, the two of them let go and stood back to look at the other.

"It's been a while." Max said. He was still smiling. It was almost as if he couldn't stop.

"Too long. I should have called you more often." May replied. She too was smiling.

The two of them continued talking and Cade, who had silently been standing behind Max, made his way over to where Drew was standing.

"She's safe now. They both are….but now you're not." Cade whispered. Drew shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. I don't care if I'm in danger. May and Max are safe, and that's all that matters. So what if I lose my Contest Rights? It's a small price to pay for being able to see May so happy." Drew replied. Cade's eyebrows shot up.

"Your also losing your Pokemon Drew. That was part of the punishment for betrayal as well." Cade didn't like reminding him, but if Drew had forgotten than it may pose a serious problem.

"I know…I didn't forget. But I was hoping that Carson would get arrested or something before it got to that point." Drew's fear of losing his Pokemon was great, but his fear of having May hurt was equally as large. He didn't know what to do. Lose his Pokemon, or lose May.

"I called the police and told them about where I locked him. There on the way to the storage room to pick him up I'm pretty sure." Cade tried to console him. Drew was finally starting to feel relieved when he heard a phone ring.

"Ah that's mine." Cade said. He pulled it out from some where with in his cloak and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?…Yes that's me…What? No the storage room…Not there!?…Well thank you…No. It shouldn't be a problem…Thanks for letting me know…Yeah I'll tell you if any news of him comes up." Cade hung up the phone and shook his head.

"Damn. Carson somehow got out of the storage room. He could be anywhere by now." Cade had barely finished his sentence when a figure stepped into the room and reached for the first person he saw.

May and Max, who were still near the door, tried to dash back into the room. Max made it, but May wasn't fast enough. Carson grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. He tried to get her into a choke but she bit him.

"Ow! You little brat. I was going to be nice but since you don't want to cooperate…" He reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol. Cade's eyes widened. His brother had never actually used the gun that he was given by their father when they were younger. The gun was pressed against May's head in less than an instant, and the entire room stood still.

No one dared to move, for fear that Carson would lose his temper. Carson smiled at the room of people that he had brought to his power in so little a time. Carson slowly moved forward, and pushed May along in front of him. He made it far enough so that he could shut the door of the room with his foot.

"Now that I have your attention. I want what I came for. The ribbons. You may not have gotten the one from this contest, but the other ones. Give them to me."

May scrambled to reach her belt. Carson wanted the ribbons, and he could have them.

"No May. Keep them. I'll give him mine." Drew stepped forward and took out his ribbon case. From it he pulled the many ribbons that he had earned over his years as a coordinator. He walked towards Carson and held out the ribbons.

"Take them and leave her be." Drew said. Carson smiled as he watched Drew give in to defeat.

"I'm surprised your not going to try anything Drew. Doesn't seem like you at all." Carson reached forward and was about to take the ribbons when a small smile crept onto Drew's lips.

"What makes you think I wasn't going to try anything?" As Drew said this he grabbed Carson's arm and pulled as hard as he possibly could. Carson had been off balance from keeping the gun pressed tightly to May's head, and as Drew pulled, he fell forward.

May fell with him, but Carson's grip loosened enough that she was able to break out of his grasp. Instead of running away she spun around and grabbed the hand that Carson was holding the gun with. Ripping the gun out of his hand. She stepped back and put her hands on her hips.

"Well I guess I know who kidnapped Max now." She gave him an icy glare that rivaled even Cade's.

"Police?…Yeah he's here…Yup…He's not going anywhere…Thanks." Cade hung up his phone. "Sorry bro but what you did was kind of illegal." Drew had Carson pinned to the ground.

"Uh. May you may want to give Cade the gun now. It may look kind of bad if the police got here and found you with the gun. Especially since it was your brother he kidnapped…" Drew was smiling. Wouldn't it just be there luck if when the police got there they arrested Carson _and _May because she was holding a gun.

"But then won't Cade get in trouble?" May asked. Cade smiled.

"Naw I won't get in trouble. I can hide pretty much anything in this cloak of mine." he said with a smile.

"Alright then…" May reluctantly walked over and gave the gun to Cade. In less than a second, the gun had disappeared.

"…You weren't kidding!" May said. A knock on the door made everyone's head turn.

"Umm…Come in I guess." Drew said. The door opened and, as if anyone else could show up, Solidad and Brock walked through the door.

"Well, this certainly is an interesting scene to walk in on." Solidad said as she took everything in. The two of them had missed a lot and it was quite evident from the way they were looking right then. They both had looks of complete confusion plastered onto their faces.

"Why don't Ash and I explain everything back in the lobby and leave Max, Cade, May, and that guy on the floor to wait for the police?" Misty suggested. The four of them walked out of the room and a silence fell over the room.

"Well I guess that solves everything." Drew said as he looked from May to Cade and back to May.

"Something's been bothering me though. Carson, how did you get out of the storage room?" Cade had done a pretty thorough job of re-bolting the air duct cover and he didn't think that there was another key.

"Luckily for me a maintenance worker was passing down the hallway and heard me banging on the door." Carson said. "Drew if you wouldn't mind not crushing my diaphragm that'd be much appreciated." Drew had his knee pressed down on Carson's back in order to keep him from standing up.

"Sorry." Drew mumbled. He shifted his weight so that Carson would not whine. May smiled. A guy had just tried to kill her and Drew was still making sure a person who was pinned to the floor was comfortable. How could a person be that nice?

The group talked about small things before the police showed up. The group watched in front of the stadium as Carson was taken away. As soon as Carson and the police were out of sight, Drew let out a large sigh. Everything had worked out so well, and it had all happened so quickly. May and her brother were both safe, and he didn't have to worry about Carson anymore. He had Cade to thank for that.

When he went to look for Cade, who had disappeared shortly after the police came, he found May sitting alone. The bench sat on a ledge that overlooked the small part of the city where the families lived. The small development of houses sat there quietly and undisturbed.

Small lights shone from the windows and provided a source of light in the otherwise darkening environment. The sun was going down on the other side of the stadium.

Drew walked over and sat down next to her. Neither of them said a word. Drew laid his hand on the bench between the two of them, his palm up. May laid her hand on top of his and they sat in silence

Both of their minds traveled back to the bench in Lavaridge. Their thoughts both circled around the fact that they had almost kissed. Almost. May looked up to see Drew's chartreuse eyes waiting. He tipped his face towards hers and stopped halfway, waiting to see what she would do. She lifted her face to meet his. It was a perfect kiss.

When they pulled away, Drew put his arm around her, and May rested her head on his shoulder.

"We could have that battle you promised now. Couldn't we?" May said. Drew smiled.

"Yeah. We could. Why don't we go have that battle." he replied.

"Uh Drew? I was wondering if we could do something else first." she said.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if we could go get something to eat."

Drew laughed.

* * *

sigh. happy to be done yet sad because its over. leave a review on what you thought of my very first fanfic!


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